VisitScotland: Breaking into China

Tourism businesses from throughout Scotland are in China this week as part of a VisitScotland business development mission to boost an emerging market already worth £34 million a year.

The ten Scottish companies include The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which has ambitious plans to take its spectacular military show to China in the near future, and Historic Environment Scotland, the owner of Edinburgh Castle which last year welcomed more than 160,000 Chinese visitors.

Representatives from other companies, including the Gretna Green Famous Blacksmiths Shop – a hugely popular stop among Chinese coach parties – and Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG), will have face-to-face meetings with a number of tour operators in Beijing and Shanghai tomorrow (Thursday 17 November) and on Friday.

Later on Friday, VisitScotland, the Scottish Government and Scottish Development International (SDI) are putting on a ‘Spirit of Scotland Showcase Evening’ in Beijing, giving tour operators, the travel trade, airlines and other partners the opportunity to network with key contacts and enjoy an evening of traditional Scottish food and entertainment.

Following VisitScotland’s mission, the national tourism organisation will join a number of its partners at Destination Britain China, a three-day tourism showcase organised by VisitBritain, before heading on to Seoul for Destination Britain South Korea.

The connectivity between China and Scotland has been enhanced in recent years by airlines such as Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines and Finnair, which link the two countries via Qatar, the UAE, Turkey and Finland respectively.

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “VisitScotland supports industry in their aspirations to internationalise and to attract more business and income from global markets. China is a hugely important emerging market for Scottish tourism and this business development mission will allow tourism businesses to meet face to face with tour operators in Shanghai and Beijing. It will provide our partners with an excellent platform to showcase their products and we look forward to welcoming more Chinese visitors to Scotland as a result.”

David Leven, Greater China Director at Scottish Development International, said:“There is huge scope for trade and investment relationships between China and Scotland to continue to grow. As well as offering a unique visitor experience, Scotland – with five of the world’s top 200 ranked universities – provides educational excellence in a safe, clean and economical environment. There are many opportunities for Chinese businesses and consumers to enjoy and work with Scotland’s iconic products – from Scotch whisky to textiles, seafood to golf clubs, craft beer to shortbread – many of which will be showcased in Beijing.”

Susan Lawton, Head of Sales at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said:“We work incredibly hard to build connections with our audiences across the globe, encouraging partnerships and visits to our hometown of Edinburgh. This year we witnessed an extraordinary 600 per cent increase in Chinese visitors, making up around 2,000 members of our total audience. For us, this demonstrates the appetite the Chinese people have for the Tattoo and we’re excited about the prospect of bringing the world’s best known military event to this wonderful country in the future.”

Lindsay Robertson, Sales Executive at Historic Environment Scotland, which manages more than 300 Historic Scotland properties, said:“From Orkney to the Scottish Borders, together our 300 heritage attractions help tell more than 5,000 years of Scottish history. It’s this rich and diverse heritage that is a unique and important element within Scotland’s wider tourism offering, which continues to appeal to visitors at a global level.

“Currently Chinese visitors account for 5 per cent of total visits to our ticketed sites, with Scotland’s top visitor attraction Edinburgh Castle welcoming more than 160,000 Chinese visitors last year alone. This specialist trade event will provide a valuable opportunity to further develop and increase our trade business within this market, whilst raising awareness and product knowledge of Scotland’s heritage tourism offering.”

John Somers, First Secretary for Scottish Affairs, People’s Republic of China, said:“The Scottish Government’s China strategy was first conceived almost a decade ago. However our cultural exchange can be measured in millennia with many of Scotland’s cultural icons such as our tartan, our whisky, our bagpipes and our golf all having ancestral links to ancient China.

“Called by the pipes of the Tattoo to the enduring beauty of our rural landscape and the dynamic excitement of our cities, more and more Chinese visitors are making Scotland their destination of choice.”